LEgal Research & Extension
Sea Grant has a network of lawyers working on a host of coastal, ocean and Great Lakes law and policy topics to address community needs.
Legal Resources
These diverse topics range from matters such as sea level rise and climate adaptation, to public access to the shoreline and the water, to the application of maritime law in marine and coastal industries. Legal professionals have been involved in Sea Grant for almost as long as the National Sea Grant College Program has existed, and today the Sea Grant Legal Network is comprised of participants from 11 Sea Grant programs—and counting!
Meet the Experts












Coastal Planning Specialist, Florida Sea Grant Coastal Planning Program - Mr. Ruppert's role as a legal expert on liability for climate and sea level rise impacts on infrastructure has been an invaluable resource for local governments looking to understand how they can address the effects of climate change in their policies. He was named a 2019 Florida Climate Institute Faculty Fellow for his contributions to climate research and extension.


Director, Louisiana Sea Grant Law & Policy Program - As the current head of Sea Grant's oldest legal program, Mr. Wilkins's professional accomplishments include a ten-year effort paving the way to allow alternative oyster aquaculture in Louisiana waters.


Director, Marine Affairs Institute & Rhode Island Sea Grant Legal Program – A significant part of Ms. Wyman’s work has been focused on the legal and policy aspects of adaptation to climate change.


Featured Legal Research & Extension Impacts


Florida Sea Grant’s Legal Program assists coastal communities in developing strategies for managing recreational uses in popular near-shore waters critical to manatees and sea turtles


Florida Sea Grant’s Coastal Planning Program and local partners advance resilience planning in east Central Florida


Georgia Sea Grant’s Legal Program provides expert law and policy analysis on critical coastal and marine issues in Georgia




Louisiana Sea Grant identifies legal and economic options for mitigating coastal access conflicts


Senate staff, NGO use Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant legal article in efforts to improve water quality


National Sea Grant Law Center contributes research to inform City of Portland’s invasive species strategy


New York Coastal Resilience Law and Policy Fellows assemble resources to help communities


Rhode Island Sea Grant Legal Program provides clarity for direct-to-consumer sale regulation for fishing industry


Virginia Sea Grant extension facilitates streamlining of environmental policies


Washington Sea Grant supports community actions that enhance resilience to coastal hazards by improving coordination


Legal Research & Extension News


National Sea Grant Law Center to present Continuing Legal Education webinar on PFAS
On April 21, 2022 at 3 p.m. ET, the National Sea Grant Law Center will present a Continuing Legal Education webinar entitled “Per-and Polyfluorinated Substances Legal and Regulatory Update.”


Connecticut Sea Grant partners with Rhode Island Sea Grant Legal Program to help local leaders navigate climate change questions
Questions poured in by the dozen after the morning session of the 2015 Adapt CT legal workshop—six pages worth, in fact. The workshop was part of a series on climate adaptation hosted by Connecticut Sea Grant and the UConn Center for Land Use Education and Research, known as CLEAR, through their joint organization Adapt CT. Legal issues had starkly emerged as another area being reshaped by the broad sweep of the changing climate, as effects are felt across fisheries, agriculture, health, infrastructure, wildlife and economies.


Sea Grant Recognizes Law Center as a Long-term Component of National Program
Sea Grant is pleased to announce the designation of the National Sea Grant Law Center (Law Center) as a “coherent area program.” This designation elevates the Law Center from a temporary Sea Grant project to a more permanent component of the National Sea Grant College Program.